A tragic accident at Castleberg Park in Riverbank claimed the life of a young boy on Wednesday, Sept. 11.

The California Highway Patrol investigated the accident, which occurred just before 7:45 p.m. at the park, corner of Eighth Street and Kentucky Avenue in Riverbank.

According to the police report, a 30-year-old Riverbank man was leaving Castleberg Park in his 2006 Chevrolet 2500 HD, entering the traffic area of the parking lot from the parking stall that he was backed into. The driver turned left to go north through the parking lot and that’s when the front of his vehicle struck the youth, who was riding a scooter in the parking lot.

Authorities said the Riverbank driver stopped when he felt an impact to the front of his vehicle and got out, finding the boy on the ground. The man tried to pick up the boy, according to the CHP report, but was stopped by the boy’s family, who took the child. He was identified as Daniel Taffolla, 4, of Riverbank. The youngster was taken to Memorial Medical Center by Oak Valley Ambulance but sustained fatal injuries as a result of the collision and was pronounced dead at the hospital. There were no physical injuries to the Riverbank man driving the truck.

Alcohol and drugs are not believed to be involved in the collision; authorities said the driver apparently just did not see the youth on the scooter. CHP was requested to investigate the collision for the Riverbank Police Department, with Officer A. Busalacchi handling the investigation.